Another SmartMoney Magazine Renewal Notice

I received another SmartMoney Magazine renewal notice today. "Your low rate: $19.97"

I am writing "cancel" on the notice and mailing it to

SmartMoney
P.O. Box 8466
Red Oak, Iowa 51591-5466

I am also writing, "this is my third cancellation request" on the notice.

Another issue of SmartMoney Magazine arrived today

I just received the February 2010 issue of SmartMoney. Still no acknowledgment of my cancellation request.

Invoice from SmartMoney Magazine

Just as I feared, my cancellation request was not acknowledged.

Today, I received an invoice from SmartMoney. It says the following:

Thank you for choosing to be part of our Continuous Service Program. As we recently notified you, your renewal to SmartMoney has been processed.

By renewing your subscription, you have guaranteed yourself considerable savings off the newsstand price, hassle free service and uninterrupted delivery. you won't miss a single issue!

Payment is now due. Please enclose your check with the invoice below and return it in the pre-addressed envelope. Thank you again.

G. L. Walk

Vice President

I will write "cancel" on the invoice and will mail it today. Given what I have seen so far, I would not be surprised if the following were to occur: I receive a second invoice, a third invoice, then finally a letter from a collections agency. I think most people would just pay the $12 at that point. However, if I get a letter from a collections agency, I will proceed to sue SmartMoney in small claims court.

I scanned an image of the invoice with "cancel" written on it in case I need to use it as evidence in court. This blog should also serve as a useful record of events. I'm not going to use certified mail, so I suppose they can claim that they never received my mailing.

Also, it looks like I'm not only person encountering problems with SmartMoney subscription services. See http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/03/21/continuous-service-dumb-moves-from-smart-money/